NASA of Washington has chosen Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., to supply the space administration with an instrument for its satellite-based Landsat Data Continuity Mission, to detect and differentiate natural and man-made global land surface changes. Under terms of the $127.9 million cost-plus-award-fee contract, the company will design, develop and manufacture an operational land imager for capturing visible and near-infrared images. After integrating the imager into the satellite, the company also will test and deliver the system as well as provide up to 10 years of on-orbit support. The mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than July 2011.

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